Harrison Ford ‘lucky to escape death’ on the set of Star Wars
HOLLYWOOD actor Harrison Ford could have been killed while filming Star Wars in Britain because of a set safety blunder, a court heard yesterday.
As it was he suffered a broken leg, magistrates were told, when the production company involved pleaded guilty to two criminal health and safety charges.
The 74-year-old, who plays Han Solo in the science fiction series, was crushed by the hydraulic door of a Millennium Falcon spaceship while filming at Pinewood Studios in Bucks.
It happened as Ford rehearsed a scene for Star Wars: The Force Awakens on June 12, 2014.
Andrew Marshall, prosecuting, told Milton Keynes magistrates’ court that Ford had gone through the door with another actor then started to walk back through it, unaware the set was live and believing it would not close.
However the door was being remotely operated and as the star passed underneath he was hit in the pelvis and pinned to the ground. Mr Marshall said there was a “risk of death” and added: “It could have killed somebody.
“The fact that it didn’t was because an emergency stop was activated.”
Foodles Production (UK) Ltd, a subsidiary of Disney, admitted two out of four criminal charges. The two other charges were withdrawn.
Ford during referred to the an appearance incident on The Jonathan Ross Show before Christmas and said in the original movie made in 1977 the door was closed with a pulley by a stagehand.
He added: “Now we had lots of money and technology and so they built a ******* great hydraulic door which closed at light speed,” he said.
Defending, Angus Withington said while Foodles pleaded guilty to the two charges, it would contest the level of risk involved.
The Health and Safety Executive welcomed the guilty plea saying it was a “foreseeable incident.”
It added: “The British film industry has a world-renowned reputation. Managing on-set risks is vital to protecting both onscreen and off-screen talent, as well as protecting the reputation of the industry.”
A spokeswoman for Foodles Production (UK) Ltd said: “The safety of our cast and crew was always a top priority throughout the production.”
Sentencing of the company will take place at Aylesbury Crown Court on August 22.